Lloyds' new(ish) chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio left shareholders in no
doubt about the scale of the bank's problems yesterday.

As if the £3.2bn set aside for compensating those mis-sold payment protection insurance wasn't enough – Horta-Osorio also warned shareholders that losses in that now notorious portfolio of property loans and structured finance it acquired when it bought HBOS, would be even higher than previously thought.

The former Santander executive certainly painted a very bleak picture for his shareholders. But then he meant to – even if it did help wipe 10pc off the value of Lloyds shares.

It is only too tempting for new chief executives to trash the record and performance of their predecessors. Even more so when that predecessor is as easy a target as Eric Daniels, Horta-Osorio's predecessor who many shareholders blame for Lloyds' current woes.

Friends of Horta-Osorio insist that he is avoiding the temptation to "kitchen sink"; they claim the bleaker picture merely reflects the reality. But as a number of analysts pointed out yesterday, strip out the exceptional items and profits were actually up (albeit only slightly).

Whichever reality you believe, one thing is indisputable. More than any other of the big banks, Lloyds' fortunes are tied to the UK recovering. Now that really is a bleak prospect.

THE fact that the FTSE 250 has fallen so much further than the benchmark FTSE 100 amid the turmoil of the last few days can be partly explained by its greater exposure to the (stalled) domestic UK economy.

But the FTSE 250, like the AIM market, has also been dragged lower by a small number of oil and gas stocks, that have long been the favoured punts for retail investors.

Many of those investors hold their positions through spread bets or contracts for difference, which allow them to put up just a fraction of their total investment in hard cash.

However, in recent days these investors found themselves "stopped out" or unable to meet margin calls as the markets have fallen, forcing them to sell. Those forced sales have sent share prices even lower, starting the whole process again. How else can you explain the 10pc fall in Afren yesterday or the 23pc fall in Rockhopper Exploration?

Leverage is great when things are going well. But as many retail investors are now discovering to their (considerable) cost, it is not so great when markets are heading south.

THERE are lots of pictures in Inmarsat's glossy annual report of the group's satellite phones in use in far flung locations: from TV journalists filing on location to aid workers in Haiti. It all looks very modern and high-tech.

But the fact is the group's core business is a lot more mundane. Inmarsat generates most of its revenue from connecting sailors on those giant cargo ships that shift stuff around the world with their loved ones (and bosses) back on shore. And therein lies the group's problem.

A few years ago Inmarsat effectively had the market to itself: these days it faces increasing competition. To make matters worse, rivals allow homesick sailors to not only talk to their loved ones – but also poke them on Facebook.

Inmarsat has of course responded. Its got its own broadband services which it is rolling out to existing customers. The problem is that if sailors can poke their loved ones on Facebook or e-mail them there is less need for those expensive phone calls. Inmarsat's kit may still be on nine out of ten cargo ships – but it's making a lot less money from it. Andrew Sukawaty, Inmarsat's chairman and chief executive, is still upbeat. Revenues might fall initially, but he believes that in the longer term those sailors will spend more and more time on the web eventually driving up revenues.

Nevertheless, he was forced to admit to shareholders yesterday that he has no idea how much the core marine business will, or will not, make this year. That isn't what investors wanted to hear and the shares topped the FTSE 100 loserboard, falling more than 20pc.

The company's advisers insist that the rivals are only "nibbling" at its core business – unfortunately the market doesn't seem convinced.